Thursday, April 19, 2012

Water, Exercise And Dehydration

By Owen Jones


We, as human beings, as very dependent on water. We are roughly 70% water and we cannot live without it. In fact, we can go weeks without food, but just about three days without water.

One of the sad things about the Western diet is that a great deal of people no longer drink water. They have completely replaced water with sugary soft drinks, which of course contain enough water but also contain too much sugar or sugar substitute.

The first step that these people have to take in order to get back on track is to give up this silly, childish habit and begin drinking plain water again. It has been worked out that about two-thirds of people do not drink enough water, which means that they are in a permanent condition of partial dehydration.

Water has a number of vital functions in our bodies, but one of the most vital ones is to flush out toxins. It is worth knowing that if you feel thirsty, your body has reached a state where it is crying out for water. In other words, it has already passed the state where it requires water, so strive not to wait until you are thirsty before you take a drink.

Another fact is that tea, coffee and alcohol (some of our most popular adult drinks) are diuretics, which means that they force urination, sometimes more than they replenish. So you can put 250mm in but you may lose 270mm. This is naturally not the point of drinking when you are thirsty

Exercise is another reason why we lose water. In fact, merely by being alive, we lose water due to body heat and evaporation, but while we are actually doing something, we lose water quite rapidly. You might get worried about drinking water before going to bed, but if you can do it, it is a very good thing.

If you wake up a bit groggy every day and need breakfast, tea or coffee before you can actually wake up, it might be because of dehydration, not because you have issues waking up. Being dehydrated results in drowsiness and lack of concentration.

In fact, dehydration is a major killer in the Third World. This is not because there is no water, but because the water is contaminated. This contaminated water causes diarrhoea which causes dehydration. It is vital to continue drinking when you are sick even if you do not feel like eating.

It is recommended that we drink at least eight tumblers of water (say, of 250mm each) a day. More if you are exercising or sick. It sounds like a great deal of water, but most individuals are awake for about 16 hours a day, so eight glasses works out to merely one each two hours.

It is more of a problem to get into the habit of drinking water on a regular basis than it is to actually do the drinking, but once you have established the habit, you will feel better on a day-to-day basis. It will not stop you from falling sick, but your general level of health will improve, because you are getting rid of toxins.




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